The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) Position Raised by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 135,465 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,790 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $16,405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 6.8% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 4,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $587,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,353,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,169,000 after acquiring an additional 958,142 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,266,000. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,565,000. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 60.5% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 20,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,217,000 after acquiring an additional 7,662 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

SJM opened at $110.62 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $114.17 and a 200-day moving average of $115.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.39, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.26. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 12-month low of $105.69 and a 12-month high of $134.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The company reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.25. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 5.96%. The company had revenue of $2.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SJM. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $128.56.

Insider Transactions at J. M. Smucker

In other J. M. Smucker news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 994 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $112,322.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,116,942. This represents a 5.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

J. M. Smucker Company Profile

The J. M. Smucker Company manufactures and markets branded food and beverage products worldwide. It operates in three segments: U.S. Retail Pet Foods, U.S. Retail Coffee, and U.S. Retail Consumer Foods. The company offers mainstream roast, ground, single serve, and premium coffee; peanut butter and specialty spreads; fruit spreads, toppings, and syrups; jelly products; nut mix products; shortening and oils; frozen sandwiches and snacks; pet food and pet snacks; and foodservice hot beverage, foodservice portion control, and flour products, as well as dog and cat food, frozen handheld products, juices and beverages, and baking mixes and ingredients.